“There is a certain amount of guilt in every individual…” –Claude Chabrol (The Magical Mystery World of Claude Chabrol, Film Quarterly, April 01, 1979)

Claude Chabrol is without a doubt one of the most prolific auteurs to come from the French New Wave and has been often referred to as “the French Hitchcock” due to his tendency towards thrillers exposing mankind’s innate duality. There is usually a dark side lurking just beneath the surface of even his most likable characters.

One understands this comparison. After all, Le Beau Serge (1958) was inspired by Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943), and Chabrol had written fondly of Hitchcock’s work in Cahiers du Cinéma. However, this label ignores some fundamental differences between Chabrol and Hitchcock. The most obvious (and perhaps the most important) of the differences lies in their approach to similar material.

Hitchcock’s thrillers focus on placing the audiences in the mindset of his various characters, and a subjective presentation always ruled the day. Chabrol, on the other hand, seems to have preferred a more objective approach to his material. The French auteur has even gone on record about this fundamental difference in their approach to cinema.

“I don’t consider Lang and Hitchcock from a thematic point of view. I consider them in terms of style, and in this I’m much closer to Lang than to Hitchcock. Hitchcock tries to convey a story subjectively—everything is based on the subjectivity of the character, while Lang seeks the opposite, to objectify all the time. I try to objectify too. It’s characteristic of Hitchcock— even the titles of his films always bear on his personal psychology: Shadow of a Doubt, Suspicion, Psycho… They all have to do with personal, individual things. In Lang, it’s Human Desire—it’s never individual. Intellectually—in terms of pleasure derived—I was more influenced by Hitchcock than by Lang.” –Claude Chabrol (The Magical Mystery World of Claude Chabrol, Film Quarterly, April 01, 1979)

It is best to experience Chabrol’s work on its own terms and there is much to experience. His career spanned over fifty years leaving over fifty films in its wake. Like all directors, the quality of his work varies but nearly every film has something to offer the viewer. Most scholars consider the films made from 1968-1978 to be the director’s best, but there are some notable titles that stand out that weren’t made during what is often described as his golden era.

These three films from late in Chabrol’s career are good examples of this:

BETTY (1992)

In one of Chabrol’s darkest dramas, Marie Trintignant gives an astonishing performance as Betty, a woman whose alcohol-soaked life has finally fallen to pieces. She soon falls under the care of an older woman (Stéphane Audran) with a similar background, but her benefactor’s sympathies may be misplaced. The film was made 12 years after Chabrol’s marriage to Stéphane Audran had ended, and her performance in the film is every bit as good as those she gave in their earlier collaborations.

The film’s loose narrative was the result of a conversation that Chabrol had with Georges Simenon wherein the writer asked Chabrol why film directors rely so much on plots. Simenon theorized that because the director could rely on the mysteries behind a human face, that a plot wasn’t particularly essential. Simenon finished writing “Betty” at around that same time, and Chabrol decided to put his theory to the test with a film adaptation of the novel. The result is a decidedly nihilistic journey into the misspent life of a self-destructive alcoholic who has a tendency to destroy those that have the misfortune of entering her life.

L’ENFER/TORMENT (1994)

Henri-Georges Clouzot tried hard to bring L’Enfer to the screen in 1964, but the production faced numerous production problems. Actors became sick, locations became unavailable, and Clouzot was finally hospitalized after suffering a heart attack. This served as a death blow to the production, and the film was abandoned after three weeks of hard work.

Chabrol utilized Clouzot’s script to bring his own film to the screen, and the final result explores the point at which jealousy and obsession turn to madness. François Cluzet plays Paul, a young husband who, along with his beautiful wife (Emmanuelle Béart) runs a country hotel. Paul soon becomes obsessed with his wife’s flirtations, but is it all in his head? The film’s story is told with amazing economy and spirals rapidly into a state of manic sexual frenzy. The result is classic Chabrol.

THE SWINDLE (1997)

Rien ne va plus (a.k.a. The Swindle) is decidedly lighter and more humorous than the other two features included in the set, but Chabrol’s fingerprints can be seen and felt in every frame of the film. Betty (Isabelle Huppert) and Victor (Michel Serrault) are a couple of small-time con artists looking for the next big game in this psychological thriller tinged with wry humor. Into their web stumbles a naïve financial courier (François Cluzet) accompanying what might be their biggest score yet.

None of the three films are likely to be included in anyone’s list of top 5 Chabrol films, but fans of the director should at least agree that they are amongst the better films that the director made during this particular phase of his career.

The Presentation:

3 of 5 Stars

The Blu-ray discs are protected by the standard Blu-ray case with film related graphics framed by the Cohen Media Group’s “C” logo. Inside the case is an eight-page booklet that features a few photographs and credits. Those who have indulged in some of Cohen’s other Blu-ray releases will know exactly what to expect here.

The three menus utilize footage from the films with excerpts from Matthieu Chabrol score. They are each quite attractive and intuitive to navigate.

Picture Quality:

4 of 5 Stars

All three of the new 2K restoration transfers are vast improvements over previous home video transfers, and the improvements go far beyond the significant increase in resolution. The high bitrates also allow for considerable depth, and the three films showcase a level of detail and clarity that will astonish fans who suffered through the previous DVD transfers. Colors are also more vivid and seem to reflect Chabrol’s original intention better than those earlier transfers (which often looked washed out). Better yet, there is an increase in information on all four sides of the frame, which suggests that the earlier DVD transfers were heavily cropped.

Sounds Quality:

4 of 5 Stars

All three of Cohen’s LPCM soundtracks are clean representations of that film’s original mix. The uncompressed nature of these tracks allows all of the elements to breathe. It is admittedly difficult for these ears to judge the clarity of the French dialogue since I am not a native speaker, but there aren’t any noticeable issues. None of the tracks are particularly dynamic, but they represent Chabrol’s original intentions adequately.

Special Features:

3 of 5 Stars

Disc 1 (Betty)

Re-Release Trailer – (01:34)

This particular disc only offers Cohen Media Group’s restoration trailer for the film. It is a less-than-essential addition that makes one wonder why they couldn’t include the original theatrical trailer instead (or as well).

Disc 2 (Torment)

Feature Length Audio Commentary with Wade Major and Andy Klein

This scholarly commentary track with Wade Major and Andy Klein is surprisingly informative and covers a wide variety of relevant topics. The information here provides fans with some historical information and insight into the film that should enhance their appreciation of the film.

Re-Release Trailer – (01:24)

Cohen Media Group has again seen fit to include their restoration trailer for Torment, and it again feels like including the film’s original theatrical trailer would have been more instructive.

Disc 3 (The Swindle)

Feature Length Audio Commentary with Wade Major and Andy Klein

Wade Major and Andy Klein return again to supply viewers with another interesting commentary track that again supplies quite a bit of background information on the production.

Many Forms of Love: Interview with François Cluzet – (42:32)

Kent Jones conducts this incredibly interesting 40-minute interview with François Cluzet. The interview is in French and presented with English subtitles which make the process of absorbing the information a bit more challenging, but those who make the effort will be rewarded as Cluzet’s memories about his work with Chabrol and the director’s filmmaking style is both entertaining and enlightening.

Re-Release Trailer – (02:00)

Here we again get Cohen Media Group’s restoration trailer.

Final Words:

Three of Claude Chabrol’s late career films have arrived on Blu-ray with solid restoration transfers and it is a revelation to see the films in high definition. This release comes highly recommended!